Raja Yoga and Meditation | Michele Hebert E-RYT 500 and Mehrad Nazari, Ph.D.

Let this dynamic husband and wife team guide you through the Raja Yoga method as developed by Walt Baptiste. This well-grounded practice for the purposeful evolution of consciousness strengthens and purifies both body and mind. Pranayama breathing heightens energy levels, Chakra techniques promote balance, and meditation connects you with your sacred self.

• 11am Raja Yoga: All Levels / 90 minutes / Progressive – Sunday through Friday
• 4pm Inner Journey (50 min) – Sunday through Friday

Mehrad Nazari, Ph.D. has been a senior teacher of the Walt Baptiste method of Raja yoga for over15 years. He is a continuing education specialist in yoga for the American Council on Exercise, and has led yoga and health retreats internationally.

He was personally trained by yoga master Walt Baptiste, and studied with Zen master Kyozan Joshu Roshi and others, including Swami Veda and HH. Dalai Lama. Dr. Nazari is an adjunct professor of international business negotiation, which he taught for ten years at United States International University in San Diego. He advocates the application of yoga principles in our daily and corporate lives.

Michele Hebert E-RYT 500, a regular Rancho La Puerta and Golden Door instructor since 1987, is a visionary in women's mind, body, health and spirituality. A yoga and meditation teacher, fitness expert and author, she pioneered the first meditation-based stress management program at the renowned Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, CA, and developed Introduction to Meditation at UC San Diego. She leads yoga and meditation programs at premier spas and retreat centers internationally. As a senior teacher in the Walt Baptiste method of Raja yoga, her work has been transformational in the lives of thousands, over a 30-year period. Michele's approach blends yoga, meditation, fitness and nutrition. She is the author of The Tenth Door: An Adventure Through the Jungles of Enlightenment, a riveting spiritual memoir.

Additional information: http://www.RajaYogis.net.

Culinary Experiences at La Cocina Que Canta | Visiting Teacher Georgeanne Brennan

Tuesday 11 am and 4 pm and Thursday 4 pm

Georgeanne Brennan is the recipient of both a James Beard and Julia Child Cookbook award and the author of more than 30 cookbooks and garden books, as well as the acclaimed food memoir, A Pig in Provence. She is a regular contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle Food Section as well as other publications. Her consulting firm, Evans & Brennan, specializes in food, agriculture and improving school lunch.

On the Web: www.georgeannebrennan.com

Georgeanne offers three hands-on culinary experiences, 3.5 hours each, on Tuesday at 11 am and 4 pm and Thursday at 4 pm, during which you will enjoy preparing your own meal along with fellow cooks. Classes take place at La Cocina Que Canta, our new culinary center.

For more information and registration, please click here.

Banjo in Motion | Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn

Saturday 8 pm

Béla Fleck has been playing banjo for over 35 years, in a myriad of different musical styles. His group Béla Fleck and the Flecktones put the banjo back on the map in the jazz world, and he is known for playing classical music, and music from around the world as well as American roots music and bluegrass. Often considered the leading banjoist of our time, Béla has won 13 Grammies and been nominated for 25 – in more different categories than anyone in Grammy history.

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones have garnered a strong and faithful following among jazz and new acoustic fans. They have shared the stage with Dave Mathews Band, Sting, Bonnie Raitt and the Grateful Dead, among many others, made several appearances on The Tonight Show in the Johnny Carson days and the Jay Leno days, as well as Arsenio Hall, and Conan O'Brian. Béla also appeared on Saturday Night Live and David Letterman.

Profiled in Newsweek (2008) for creating a “gorgeous, joyful new sound,” songwriter and clawhammer banjo player Abigail Washburn takes her bold and expansive musical vision to new heights on her third recording, City of Refuge (January 11, Rounder Records). Raw, ethereal and at times lushly orchestrated, the album melds the forces of renowned producer Tucker Martine (the Decemberists, Spoon, Sufjan Stevens) with Washburn’s classic songwriting and old-time storytelling aesthetic.

Abigail and Tucker along with songwriting collaborator and multi-instrumentalist Kai Welch amassed an impressive group of artists and friends including guitarist Bill Frisell, old-timey fiddler Rayna Gellert, string arrangements by Jeremy Kittel of the Turtle Island String Quartet and guzheng (the ancient Chinese zither) master Wu Fei. Chris Funk from the Decemberists and Carl Broemel of My Morning Jacket also appear on the record.

The Hidden Dimension of Human Communication | Peter A. Glaser and Susan R. Glaser

Sunday 8 pm

Drs. Peter A. Glaser and Susan R. Glaser received their Ph.D.s in Communication from the Pennsylvania State University.  Authors of the internationally acclaimed book, “Be Quiet, Be Heard: The Paradox of Persuasion,” they have been married business partners and co-presenters for 36 years.  Drs. Glaser have published three books and more than 40 research articles.  Their research on transforming organizational culture has received the International Association of Business Communication Research Foundation Award for bridging communication theory and practice. Feature stories have been written about them in Business Week, Nation’s Business, National Business Review, Working Woman, Success Magazine, and the Washington Post.

The Glasers joined the faculty of the University of Oregon in 1975.  Active consultants since then, their work has taken them around the world working with leaders from Fortune 500 companies such as Microsoft, Hitachi, Hewlett Packard, Weyerhaeuser, Tektronix, Hyundai, and Sony Corporation. They spend February in New Zealand working with leaders from both the private and public sectors.  They have worked with federal, state, and local government leaders, from New York to Scotland and the U.K.  Their ongoing work with the United States Senate includes assisting a bipartisan group of Chiefs of Staff to reach beyond the political divide and create consensus.

The Glasers now offer research-based multi-media learning materials, including an on-line learning system of their Mastery of Leadership Communication series and a CD of their BreakThrough Conflict program.  Their latest book, “Be Quiet, Be Heard: The Paradox of Persuasion,” is available on Amazon.com. Their lecture series at Rancho La Puerta includes four programs that are based on the Glaser’s international award winning research:

1.    The Hidden Dimension of Human Communication
A world of communication lurks below the surface of our awareness.  When we are in conflict, this hidden dimension often catapults us into confusion and emotion, thwarting creative resolution and action.  This presentation reveals these veiled dangers that can shake the very core of our intimate connections and offers a productive alternative.

2.    Quality Listening in High Stress Situations
When interpersonal pressure is on, listening is the first casualty.  When dialogue turns to criticism, we often revert to nonproductive response modes which block communication even when it contains segments of truth vital to problem resolution and personal growth.  This session provides a 5-step model for transforming defensiveness and blame into insight and agreement.  A couple’s trust increases when each person feels heard and understood.

3.    Raising Delicate Issues
Why is it that our partner too often feels defensive when we try our best to provide them with helpful insights?  How can it be that we torpedo our own efforts when trying to convey suggestions which we are convinced can improve our partner’s behavior and our relationship? This presentation provides a four-step model for raising issues which renders remarkable results:  solving the problem and strengthening the relationship without generating a negative reaction.

4.    Perceptions and Reality
How do we create meaning from our perceptual world?  Why is it that we can be so wrong even when we are certain that we are reading our partner with complete accuracy?  This program reveals the fragility of our perceptual processes and provides a productive alternative which allows us to clarify assumptions even when our partner is quiet or confusing.  A 4-step model is presented to clarify perceptions while enhancing understanding and trust.

On the Web: www.theglasers.com

Concert | Martha Aarons, flute, Lev Polyakin, violin, Frances Renzi, piano, James Mason, bassoon

Tuesday 8 pm

Enjoy a wonderful performance with Martha Aarons, flute, Lev Polyakin, violin, and Frances Renzi, piano. Their program will feature popular selections from the classical period to the romantic, including virtuoso showpieces.

After 25 years with the Cleveland Orchestra, Martha Aarons embarked on a freelance career that has taken her to many major orchestras around the country. Most notably, she is a regular guest with the Philadelphia Orchestra, with whom she has toured to Asia as well as in the U.S. Other guest appearances have been with the Metropolitan Opera, Mostly Mozart Festival, the Orchestra for World Peace, and the orchestras of Minnesota, Milwaukee, San Diego and Baltimore. She also taught and performed at the Aspen Music Festival for 19 years. Her CD, History of the Tango, is a collaboration with pianist Frances Renzi and guitarist Jason Vieaux.

Lev Polyakin, who at 21 was co-concertmaster of the prestigious Moscow Chamber Orchestra, is now assistant concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra. He has won prizes in international violin competitions, such as Carl Flesch in London.

Pianist Frances Renzi appears regularly as a featured guest artist on the Toledo Symphony Chamber Series, performs each summer as a soloist and chamber musician at the New Hampshire Music Festival, and has performed as a solo pianist for the New York City Ballet.

James Mason has been principal bassoonist with the Detroit Concert Band, the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, the Toledo Opera, and performed and recorded with the Detroit Symphony.

 

 

We Picked a President — Now What? | Linda Wertheimer

Wednesday 8 pm

As National Public Radio's senior national correspondent, Linda Wertheimer travels the country and the globe for NPR News, bringing her unique insights and wealth of experience to bear on the day's top news stories. A respected leader in US media and a beloved figure to listeners who have followed her three-decade-long NPR career, Wertheimer provides clear-eyed analysis and thoughtful reporting on all NPR News programs. Before taking the senior national correspondent post, Wertheimer spent 13 years as a host of NPR's flagship news magazine, All Things Considered.

Her numerous journalism awards include those from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for her anchoring of "The Iran-Contra Affair: A Special Report" (a series of 41 half-hour programs on the Iran-Contra congressional hearings); from American Women in Radio/TV for her story "Illegal Abortion;" and from the American Legion for NPR's coverage of the Panama Treaty debates. She was named one of the top 50 journalists in Washington by Washingtonian Magazine, and one of America's 200 most influential women byVanity Fair.

Bingo is a Blast with Barry!

Thursday 8 pm

 

 

Deborah Szekely at 90 Discusses her Legacy

Monday 8 pm

Wonderful memories and wisdom gained from 72 years of helping healthy guests become healthier--and take delight in watching themselves grow younger year by year!

 

Ranch Book Discusion Club | Michele Hebert

Michele Hebert will lead a discussion of her book “The Tenth Door: An Adventure Through the Jungles of Enlightenment,” available through Amazon. For quick readers, copies of the book can be purchased at The Mercado upon arrival. “The Tenth Door” is the recipient of the Nautilus Book Award in Memoir/Personal Journey category and is the winner of the National Indie Excellence Award in the category of Spirituality.